Mittman Tricia History 328 Midterm The intricacies of New York City result in millions of unique photographs that attest to different themes centered on the city itself. Photos of buildings, people, both, or neither can be equally intriguing to the eye. An often-overlooked aspect of photographs is the artist behind them, and their atmosphere. By discovering the history and Jewish heritage of Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Robert Frank, and Lisette Model, their photographs adopted a new layer of complexity and thus further appreciation. The influence that photographers subtlety cast on their pictures can be easily overlooked by an uninformed viewer, but can change the ideas or messages extracted from the photo if one is to consider the upbringing of the artist. These four photographers conducted extensive work in New York City, however as a result of their diverse backgrounds their photos all have a distinguished focus or approach, specific to the photographer. Alfred Stieglitz was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in the mid 18th century, just outside of New York City. He was the product of German-Jewish immigrants who oversaw that he was well educated and looked after. He attended the best private school in New York City, and grew up in the atmosphere of the city. Stieglitz enrolled in City College, however when he discovered anti-Semitic remarks in the school newspaper, he and his family moved back to Berlin, an ironic concept to consider today. However, it was in Berlin that Stieglitz first discovered photography, and when his family moved back to America, his father had to threaten Stieglitz monetarily to encourage him to return as well. Reluctantly, Alfred Stieglitz began photographing cityscapes of New York from outside the windows of his gallery on 59th street. He took around ninety cityscape
photographs in his career, and his first exhibit of these was in 1932. His photos document the building boom of the 1920s in Manhattan, which transformed the formerly refined uptown that Stieglitz had known, into a skyscraper ridden midtown; a center for business, hotels, and trading. One of his more famous photographs, The Flatiron depicts the iconic juxtaposition he saw of buildings and nature. This photo contains a tightly cropped image of a winter scene, with a tree in the foreground and a tall building and smaller, snow-covered trees in the background. Stieglitzs main work in New York revolved around cityscapes and his interest in the transformation of New York City. However he repeatedly emphasized that his photographs had to be seen as a part of a larger cultural pursuit for the causes of America and photography. 291 Gallery was another project Stieglitz was involved in, and it was there that he met Paul Strand, another New York native. Strand was born in 1890 and raised in New York City by Jewish bohemian parents. He studied at the Ethical Culture School in New York, however his interest in photography began at a very young age. Strands passion for photography lead him to Stieglitz at the gallery, and Stieglitz mentored him and taught him new techniques that Strand adopted throughout his career. Strands New York City photo Winter, Central Park exemplifies the practice of using strong contrasts such as a stark white background of a snow covered park, with a dark tree branch in the foreground. Similarly, Wall Street contains harsh lighting that results in rich contrast between the people walking on the street, and the light hitting the street, that looks as if it is nearly blinding the pedestrians. Paul Strand uses contrast to intensify the city life he represents in his photos, which mainly attempts to grasp the idea of the many different settings that can be found in New York City, from a scenic snowy park, to a bustling city
street. Strand hardly considered himself a New York Jew, ensuring that he did not associate with either a particularly Jewish community or an entirely non-Jewish one. He stated that instead of identifying himself by his religion, he would rather find placement in the world of photography. This explains the objectivity of his photos, and how none of them can be considered particularly Jewish or non-Jewish, like Strand himself. Unlike Stieglitz and Strand, American natives, Robert Frank was born in 1924 in Switzerland to a wealthy Jewish family during the time of the World Wars. Though much of Europe was in turmoil during this time, Switzerland remained neutral, creating a safe haven for Jews. Fortunately for Frank, he did not face the persecution that so many Jews did, however violence was prevalent and he learned to express himself creatively through photography. When Robert Frank to immigrated the New York, he began work as a fashion photographer for Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. Soon after, he applied for a Guggenheim fellowship to create a record of what an observant naturalized American finds and sees in the United States. The result of this was an 83 image series entitled The Americans, of which eight photographs are taken in New York City. Of these, six are photos of people - from a wealthy Caucasian couple at a Charity Ball to a group of racially diverse teens on the street. Frank was interested in portraying the different types of people that were to be found in New York City, a melting pot of world cultures. In Rodeo New York City, a cowboy is seen lighting his cigarette on the street next to a garbage can, opposing his rural character with the urban setting. Yom Kippur New York City is especially intriguing because it exhibits Jews on a boat performing a religious ritual that is actually meant for Rosh Hashanah. Franks choice to document these Jews on such a holy day characterizes his comfort with the Jewish people and their practices,
yet his disconnect from the religion considering his use of technology on a day in which that is specifically forbidden. He also misnames the photo with the incorrect High Holiday, assisting the assertion that he was not particularly involved in Jewish life. Robert Frank had a goal to expose the American life in the 1950s, and he accomplished this while simultaneously including images that were specific to his religion. The cultural upbringing of Lissette Model is unlike that of Stieglitz, Stand, or Frank in that she was not raised in a Jewish home. Born to a wealthy family in Vienna of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, Model moved to Paris in the 1920s to pursue her passions of music and painting. She found work as a darkroom technician and it was there that she created her images and took interest in the art of photography. Her first photos were observations of people in Paris, and in 1938 she visited New York and decided to stay. Model attempted to find work as a technician again, however after showing her work to Ralph Steiner, he was so impressed that he persuaded her to continue her work as a photographer. Two photographs by Model, Reflections and Reflections, Fifth Avenue display her innate ability to capture intriguing images with little formal training. These photos were taken in New York City, and communicate her interests while in the city. Running Legs is another portrayal of life in New York that Model found fascinating. This photo captures a tightly framed image of pedestrians legs walking steadily on the streets of New York City. A viewer would not know anything about the people or the photographer by seeing the image, only infer the hustle and bustle of the New York City streets, the idea Model found interesting as well. Through these three photographs, it can be inferred that Model was primarily concerned with the mood of New York City, and thus captured effective images of this idea.
Personal experience shapes the way a person views their world and the world around them, this is undeniable. However, photographers utilize their craft to relay this interpretation on to anyone that views their work. One work of art can take on many messages considering the viewer and the viewers knowledge of the history of the photograph they are observing. In this case four photographers, two US born and two originally from Europe, came to New York City to photograph the emerging culture of the time. However, each photographers culture and interests influenced what he or she found particularly intriguing about New York City. Stieglitz found the developing city skyline remarkable and chose to focus his work on this, whereas Paul Strand chose a variety of landscapes to represent the vast differences in areas of the city. Similarly, Robert Frank chose to portray the diversity of Manhattan, though he took a liking to capturing the people and the American life featured in the city. Finally, Lissette Model, who was not particularly keen on photography until her arrival in New York, documented New York City life in the late 1930s by taking photographs of engaging scenes on the streets. Each artist contributed works on the subject of New York City, however these photos were individualized due to the different aspects that the respective photographers were attracted to. Continuing, these photographers Jewish heritage adds an additional dimension to the elaborateness of the photos they took. It is a combination of these pictures, as well as thousands more, that create a collection of New York photography throughout decades of history.